CNN's GUT CHECK | for January 30, 2014 | 5 p.m.
– n. a pause to assess the state, progress or condition of the political news cycle

BREAKING …. JAKE TAPPER EXCLUSIVE: OBAMA SAYS WALMART, APPLE, FORD AND MORE PLEDGE HELP FOR LONG-TERM JOBLESS ... CNN’s Jake Tapper & Sherisse Pham report: - The White House has secured commitments from some of the nation's largest companies, signing on to a plan to boost hiring of the long-term unemployed "What we have done is to gather together 300 companies, just to start with, including, some of the top 50 companies in the country, companies like Walmart, and Apple, Ford and others, to say let's establish best practices," President Barack Obama told CNN chief Washington correspondent Jake Tapper in an exclusive interview.

"Because they've been unemployed ... so long, folks are looking at that gap in the resume and they're weeding them out before these folks even get a chance for an interview," said Obama. As the economy slowly recovers from the recession, the number of workers who have not found a job for at least six months or more has grown. "Do not screen people out of the hiring process just because they've been out of work for a long time," said the President.

Gut Check DVR: Watch the entire exclusive interview with President Barack Obama on CNN's "New Day" Friday at 6 a.m. ET and "The Lead With Jake Tapper" at 4 p.m. ET.SANDRA FLUKE: 'I AM STRONGLY CONSIDERING RUNNING' … ”I’m flattered that I’m being discussed as a potential candidate, especially for Rep. Waxman's seat, considering his incredible legacy. A number of folks I respect very deeply have reached out today and encouraged me to run. I am strongly considering running. I’ll be making my decision soon,” Fluke said in a statement.

DEVELOPING …. FEDS SEEK DEATH PENALTY FOR BOSTON BOMBING SUSPECT … Federal prosecutors will seek the death penalty against Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokar Tsarnaev, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder said Thursday afternoon. Authorities allege Tsarnaev, a Chechnya-born American, and his brother Tamerlan planted two homemade bombs near the finish line of the April 15 Boston Marathon, killing three and injuring more than 250.- Evan Perez

GEORGIA GOVERNOR APOLOGIZES AS ATLANTA THAWS … Georgia Gov. Nathan Deal apologized to thousands who were stranded on roadways and to parents whose children had to stay overnight in schools after Tuesday's relatively light snowfall. "I accept responsibility for the fact that we did not make preparation early enough to avoid these consequence," he said at a Thursday news conference. The Republican governor, who faces voters again in November, and other public officials in the area have spent two days digging themselves out of an avalanche of criticism over the snarls that resulted when the weather went south. – Tom Watkins

REP. WAXMAN TO RETIRE AT END OF TERM …Rep. Henry Waxman, a longtime Democrat from California, announced Thursday that he won't seek re-election to a 21st term this November. “In 1974, I announced my first campaign for Congress," he said in a statement. "Today, I am announcing that I have run my last campaign. I will not seek reelection to the Congress and will leave after 40 years in office at the end of this year."

Gut Check Full Service from CNN’s Ashley Killough, Deirdre Walsh : Waxman, 74, becomes the seventh House Democrat to announce his retirement at the end of the current Congress, in addition to 10 House Republicans. Democrats need to win back a challenging 17 House seats from the Republicans in November to grab control of the chamber. Most analysts believe they have little chance of reaching that goal.

SANDRA FLUKE: 'I AM STRONGLY CONSIDERING RUNNING' … ”I’m flattered that I’m being discussed as a potential candidate, especially for Rep. Waxman's seat, considering his incredible legacy. A number of folks I respect very deeply have reached out today and encouraged me to run. I am strongly considering running. I’ll be making my decision soon,” Fluke said in a statement.

OUR LONG WAIT IS OVER …. “INSIDE POLITICS” RETURNS TO CNN… #GAME ON CNN: today announced that Inside Politics, anchored by chief national correspondent John King (@JohnKingCNN), is scheduled to premiere Sunday, Feb. 2 at 8:30 a.m., ET. The 30-minute weekend program will feature a rotating group of America’s top political reporters who will provide an insider’s look into the key stories of the week.

TOO GOOD TO MISS: Former First Laura Bush’s advice to the first future “first gentleman” of the United States: “stand back and be quiet.” She also tells C-SPAN she hopes the media focuses on his tie choice and his weight.

THE BUZZ: SASHA AND MALIA TO POTUS: WHATEVER … When Obama got his “butt kicked,” his daughters didn’t offer too much sympathy, Michelle Obama told Ryan Seacrest Thursday in a radio interview. “Oh dad, tough luck,” was Sasha and Malia’s response, the first lady said. “By the way, where’s my allowance?” …“I’m surprised at how little they care about our days,” she said of her two teenage girls. “They want to talk about their lives and what they’re going through.” – Kevin Liptak

Leading CNNPolitics:Polls: Clinton still ahead, GOP field wide open
A new national poll released Thursday morning indicates potential Democratic presidential contender Hillary Clinton continues to have an overwhelming lead over other possible 2016 Democratic candidates, while former frontrunner Gov. Chris Christie is still losing ground among his potential GOP rivals. – Ashley Killough

Leading Tampa Bay Times:Q Poll: Charlie Crist 46%, Rick Scott 38%
Former Florida Gov. Charlie Crist, now running as a Democrat, leads Republican Gov. Rick Scott 46 – 38 percent in this year's governor's race and tops the incumbent on almost every measure, including handling the economy and jobs, listed by voters as the most important issues in the race, according to a Quinnipiac University poll released today.– Adam Smith

Leading Drudge:MSNBC APOLOGIZES - AGAIN!
MSNBC has fired the employee who sent out a controversial Tweet involving a Cheerios commercial that features a biracial family. In a statement to The Hollywood Reporter, MSNBC president Phil Griffin called the Tweet "outrageous and unacceptable."

Leading Politico:Bill Clinton, Barack Obama to address Senate Democrats
President Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton will be the headline speakers for Senate Democrats at their retreat next week at the Washington Nationals stadium, Democratic sources said. It’s the latest effort by Clinton to help Senate Democrats as they fight to hold onto the chamber in 2014. – John Bresnahan and Manu Raju

HOT SOTSThe political bites of the day

- Graham: ‘The world is literally about to blow up’ - SEN. LINDSEY GRAHAM, R-SOUTH CAROLINA, CRITICIZING OBAMA’S FOREIGN POLICY REMARKS IN HIS SOTU ADDRESS: “The world is literally about to blow up … Explain to me what happens if the Syrian conflict goes on another year and Assad continues to win …Iraq is disintegrating. The whole region is moving toward chaos, and we’re doing nothing. We’re talking about limiting drones?”

- McConnell: WH is arrogant, in denial - SENATE MINORITY LEADER MITCH MCCONNELL ON THE SENATE FLOOR TALKING ABOUT OBAMA’S STATE OF THE UNION: “The arrogance here is just breathtaking. But we’ve seen this kind of thing again and again from our liberal friends over the years. They just can’t accept a public that disagrees with their plans for the country. They just can’t seem to accept a society in which ‘we the people’ establish the rules, not them. And whether it’s the Fairness Doctrine, or the DISCLOSE Act, they want those who disagree with them to sit down and shut up.”

- Jeb: We need a candidate to lift our spirits – FORMER FL. GOV. JEB BUSH IN AN INTERVIEW WITH CNN AFFILIATE WFOR WEDNESDAY ABOUT WHETHER HE WILL RUN FOR PRESIDENT IN 2016: “I'm deferring the decision to the right time, which is later this year. And the decision will be based on 'can I do it joyfully' because I think we need to have candidates lift our spirits. It's a pretty pessimistic country right now. And, is it right for my family?"

–Congressman: Why I Put My Political Career on 'Operational Pause'– REP. TIM GRIFFIN (R-Arkansas), WRITING IN ROLL CALL NEWSPAPER: “Every time I walk out the door now, even if I’m just getting the newspaper, John asks me, ‘Dad, are you coming back?’ … Down the road, when my children are a little older and my wife and I believe it’s right for our family, I fully intend to seek public office again — this is simply ‘operational pause,’ as we say in the Army.”

- Weiner finds a new calling … offers Rep. Grimm PR advice - ANTHONY WEINER IN AN OP-ED FOR THE NEW YORK DAILY NEWS: “I don't want to belabor this one incident, because stuff happens, but I do think - as someone who has had his own share of tension with local media about, ahem, different subjects - I may have something to add to the conversation.” (#dearAnthony)

TOP TWEETSWhat stopped us in 140 characters or less

Robert Costa (@costareports)
news from inside the room: open mic on immigration (and other topics) ongoing at House GOP retreat, lots of unease...

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)
Are Republicans suicidal? Now they want to push amnesty through Congress. Allowing Democrats into the country.

Lynn Sweet (@lynnsweet)
Obama mentioning in Waukesha Michelle's Dad worked at Water Filtration plant in Chicago.

Since having joined team Gut Check in October, the question that has frequented our inbox the most is, "Who is Steve Liguori?"

Steve Liguori is one of Gut Check’s earliest followers, and most regular winners to our daily trivia question. He in fact, created a Twitter account in 2012 just so he could answer Gut Check trivia each day.

Steve currently lives in Phoenix, Arizona with his wife and three children but was born and raised on Long Island, NY. He works as a health insurance agent for Getinsured.com.

A fun fact about Steve: In his junior year at Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, he had the distinction of being able to single-handedly move an entire state conference championship swim meet to a college 85 miles away.

That year, Steve hurt his shoulder and couldn't swim, but he went to the meet to support his team anyway. During the meet, his glasses broke and shattered on the deck of the pool. The pool had to be closed, and the championship meet was moved. 15 years later, the incident still comes up in conversations.

soundoff(4 Responses)

just asking

why nearly 5 full years after the recession ended is obama out begging companies to hire people? were there not enough shovel ready jobs created by that trillion dollars we borrowed and spent? if these companies needed people and it was int best interests of the company owners, the shareholders, wouldn't they have already hired them?

this looks more and more like government strongarm tactics. were there irs agents in the room giving presentions on how enjoyable irs audits are? or maybe osha regulators showing all these companies the many ways they might be fined? obama and the democrats have used the government like this many times in the past. It is the leftist union thug way.

January 30, 2014 06:08 pm at 6:08 pm |

Sniffit

"MSNBC president Phil Griffin called the Tweet "outrageous and unacceptable.""

Meanwhile, the GOP/Teatrolls and MSM do nothing to complain about or stop or demand apologies for the constant stream of filth coming out of Limbaugh's mouth or Beck's chalkboards, etc.

January 30, 2014 06:24 pm at 6:24 pm |

Sniffit

"Are Republicans suicidal? Now they want to push amnesty through Congress. Allowing Democrats into the country."

Filed under "How to alienate the entire Hispanic population in 140 characters or less."

Aithough I am not a lawyer, but someday I pray someone would be kind enough to help me know why National Treaties would have the moral right to extradict their citizens to another countries to serve a court sentence. Is just like US requesting from an Arab Country, say Iran (if there is a treaty), send back its citizen to serve sentence on terrorism against Iran public opinion. The Amanda/Italian Court affair does not just stop at its legal implication but has moral and political consequences.